do people not understand that breaking the speed limit is breaking the law

[allsquareknickersnofurcoat]

Why do so many drivers (NOT ALL! :)) think that they do not have to follow the law?

If you have gotten a fine for speeding, dont say you didnt know the camera was there, its irrelevant. It wouldnt have caught you if you werent breaking the law. The law may be stupid sometimes, but that doesnt mean you can pick and choose which bits are okay to ignore and then moan when you get caught!

Plus, people parking somewhere they shouldnt and complaining when they get a ticket! Its the law, you are aware of it, and you chose to break it.

It would never be okay for a shoplifter to moan about being caught on CCTV. You cant do what you want just cause you think you'll get away with it! And if you do, you should definitely not complain about it

Rant over :)

But if you are being very careful and have a clear view of the road ahead and either side for miles, if you have made a concious decision that a certain speed limit is wrong and you are right, you are still the one in the wrong if you are caught. You knew what you were doing and should take responsibility for the consequences. Even if you didnt kill anyone and the only consequence is a fine and a few points, it is still your fault you were caught, not the cameras.

Zero is tricky though to enforce I think.
I don't think a years ban for being a mg over the limit is proportionate. Yet three points for 15 miles over limit

Just one question lying , if you are choosing to break the speed limit on the motorway, who would you blame if you were caught?

If you are aware of what you are doing and feel its an appropriate risk, whether or not anyone here agrees, and view it as completely YOUR responsibility, then luckily youre not one of the idiots that my OP is about :)

You'd be in a minority though

Agree with you OP. I can understand people going at say 80 in a 70 because it is possible to be a bit unaware of the speed but when people do above that they know what they are up to. DH was caught for speeding a few years ago when we were in France. His attitude had always been the French don't mind a bit of speeding. He complained for ages about the unfairness of it as though it was the policeman's fault. Now we have the unsaid agreement that if he speeds and gets caught he is not allowed to complain.

LyingWitchInTheWardrobe
choccy... one place I never speed is where the limit is 30mph. I probably didn't make it clear. I'll drive at 30mph unless your child, dog, whatever is in the road. Don't make assumptions when you don't know.

I assumed that you tend to revise the speed limit upwards according to the conditions.
My argument is that on our road it should be revised downwards. Obviously you probably don't drive down my road, but there must be some roads near you where it might be better to go below the limit at least some of the time.

The sooner they get rid of the cash cameras the better.

more good news

Sensible. Keep the cameras that are saving lives, and get rid of the ones requested by country bumpkins unhappy at cars in their villages.

The best way to get rid of the cash cameras is for everyone that passes them to obey the speed limit. The camera will raise no revenue and if it is only there as a cash cow, it will be removed.

As I said - a campaign of civil obedience.

I get really really annoyed by people speeding in built up areas, they just don't realise that by failing to go at appropriate speed they are having a major impact on the lives of those who live there, for example children not being allowed out by themselves because the roads are so dangerous. I'm sure they wouldn't want some idiot driving past the front of their house at 45 miles an hour but they seem happy to do this past others

Sensible. Keep the cameras that are saving lives, and get rid of the ones requested by country bumpkins unhappy at cars in their villages.

Why should people have to put up with idiots like you driving too fast in their village? They live there all the time and your actions have an impact on them. You may take a couple of minutes longer to get where you're going, surely the better option is for your journey to take longer than for a child to die?

The point being - a child isnt going to die. Many of the cameras are sited inappropriately so some drooling inbred 'local' can have nice quiet local only village traffic.

Cameras that save lives = good. That was how they were sold to us in the first place after all. Talk about thin end of the wedge though - look at the overuse now. There are thousands of the evil things, earning hundreds of millions from regular motorists who creep a few mph over the limit.

If you don't want to pay speeding fines, don't speed. If you speed and get caught, don't whinge.

And referring to people who don't want people speeding through their country roads as 'drooling inbred locals' is ignorant in the extreme!! I used to live in the country, and the vast majority of the roads are not suitable for high speed driving - they are too winding, with poor sight lines, not very good surfaces, and are often narrow. Speeding along roads like that can be lethal.

Not far from where my MIL lives there is a winding country road through a little village. A nice, thoughtful chap decided it would be OK to speed through this village and hit a car that was coming the other way head on. His charming comment when he heard he had killed the elderly lady who was driving? "Oh it was only some old bag - who cares".

For idiots like that, I'd have a speed camera everywhere they went!

An inanimate object cannot be evil...

Again, I dont think myself and many posters are making this quite clear enough...

You
Cannot
Be
Caught
Speeding
Unless
You
ARE
Speeding

Speeding
Is
(whether you agree with it or not)
Breaking
The
Law

And has it occurred to you, ccpccp, that the 'local' might know the road better than you do, and might know that there have been a number of accidents or near-misses at that place due to idiots speeding??

Perhaps they would rather have a speed camera there before someone is actually killed.

If I get caught (and I was), it's my fault. You'll never hear me bleating on about it although I will reserve the right to still complain about other ass-like legal nonsenses.

Choccy... I do know where you're coming from. There is a road not far from where I live that is 50mph. It's a really straight road but it's a death trap. The reason why there are so many fatal accidents on it is that people (typically youngsters) tend to overtake when it isn't safe to do that.

There are many roads nearby at 50mph but really they should be lower. I tend to do 30-40mph on them because it's safer than 50, regardless of what the speed limit says.

As far as drink driving goes, it's something that I wish would be legislated against completely. People metabolise alcohol at different rates, based on body weight, health, etc. If you're going to drive, don't drink; I feel really strongly about that.

SDTG, what an arsehole, did the guy get charged with causing death by dangerous driving?

ccp have you ever seen the aftermath of a high speed crash?

Of course he hasn't xstitch, otherwise there would be less bleating about "inbred locals".

I think he was charged and found guilty, xstitch.

I'd like to know how ccpccp can say so definitely that 'no child is going to be killed' by a speeding car. If you are speeding on the motorway, then pedestrians are highly unlikely, but you could still kill a child in another car when you can't stop in time because you are speeding, or can't react fast enough to an emergency situation because you are going too fast, or when you have a high speed blowout. And yes, I know you can have a blowout at lower speeds, but if you have a blowout at a high speed, your car has far more momentum and that will make the incident worse. Have a blowout at a low speed, and you may well be able to stop with no problems at all - as your speed gets higher, the risk of the car flipping or rolling gets higher - and when that happens you have NO control over who or what you hit.

In fact, in that circumstance, you could cause a multiple pile-up that costs a number of people their lives.

So stop bleating on that no-one is going to be killed, ccpccp!

ccpccp if people are driving too fast through the village then the camera is needed, there is nothing to stop you driving through their village at an appropriate speed.

Lets give you a picture then ccp. Here are some examples:

*decapitation
*closed caskets at funerals because the damage is too bad for the undertaker to hide.
*Permanent disfugurment of someone lucky enough to get out alive.
*Paralysis
*pedestrian thrown so far that they are nowhere near where they were hit
*Victims formally identified by other means due to facial injuries.

Even if and it is a very big if you managed to drive somewhere with no lapse of concentration (almost impossible) you cannot account for the actions of others. As someone said earlier in the thread high speed could worsen the consequences of any crash

ccpccp, I don't often say this, but you are really pissing me off.
Don't speed, therefore no problems, or does the law not apply to you when driving like an arse through little villages.
Us villagers have children we'd like to keep safe too you know. They are more likely to have to use the racetrack main road to get to school, local shop etc than inner city kids using fast roads.

The point being - a child isnt going to die. Many of the cameras are sited inappropriately so some drooling inbred 'local' can have nice quiet local only village traffic.

Are they really?

( actually)

regular motorists who creep a few mph over the limit.

the way speedos work, you actually have to be showing quite a bit over the limit to be caught. If you're done for 33 your speedo is more likely to be showing 36. Some 'creep'.

People also seem to misinterpret 'limit' as 'target'. If you're not capable of accurately regulating your speed then you always have the option of driving a little slower you know.

YANBU. they moan "i was only going 35 in a 30 zone and I have a ticket blah blah blah" That extra 5mph can mean life or death to someone. Im sure they would just take it calmly if they found out someone knocked down and killed their child at 35 when they should have been doing 30 i very much doubt that they will say "awk its only a few miles over."

"Perhaps they would rather have a speed camera there before someone is actually killed."

Sorry - against the guidelines. Cameras are supposed to be sited at blackspots, not where some dumbass local wants one 'just in case'.

Is speeding illegal? Wow. I can guarantee you there isnt a single driver out there who shouldnt be in prison. everybody speeds at some point or another, be it passing the 30 sign at 35 as they are braking, or overtaking a shouldntbeontheroad plodder doing 20 in a clear 30 zone. Driving isnt an exact science, and before speed cameras police officers used their judgement on giving tickets. Now judgement is taken out of the equation and a harsh line drawn in the sand that most people at some time or another will cross, often by accident and often by a tiny amount. No danger to anybody or anything except their bank balance.

And still the boy racers race, because they know where the speed cameras are and are normally in stolen cars anyway.

Not sure if I've already said this, but they are getting rid of speed cameras. Its brilliant :)